Fearnley Asset Management AS Acquires Shares of 202,849 Torm Plc $TRMD

Fearnley Asset Management AS bought a new position in Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 202,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,048,000. Torm makes up 1.9% of Fearnley Asset Management AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Torm during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new position in Torm in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in Torm in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $120,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Torm during the 4th quarter worth approximately $121,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC grew its position in Torm by 356.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 9,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 7,698 shares in the last quarter. 73.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TRMD shares. Pareto Securities lowered Torm from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Torm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Evercore set a $35.00 price target on Torm in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Torm

In related news, CEO Jacob Balslev Meldgaard sold 170,133 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.30, for a total transaction of $5,495,295.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 348,411 shares in the company, valued at $11,253,675.30. This represents a 32.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Torm Price Performance

NASDAQ TRMD opened at $29.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.53. Torm Plc has a 12-month low of $16.36 and a 12-month high of $35.33.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.15). Torm had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The company had revenue of $402.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.43 million.

Torm Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.5%. Torm’s payout ratio is 60.00%.

About Torm

Torm A/S (NASDAQ: TRMD) is an international shipping company specializing in the transportation of refined petroleum products. The firm owns and operates a modern fleet of product tankers, including both Handysize and MR vessels, which are designed to carry a broad range of clean petroleum cargoes such as gasoline, jet fuel and diesel. Torm’s core business revolves around voyage and time-charter contracts with major oil companies, trading houses and other energy sector clients around the world.

The company’s fleet is deployed on global trade routes, with particular focus on major refining and consumption regions in Europe, North America and Asia.